Photo by Mark M. Murray / The RepublicanDouglas Howie, of East Longmeadow, holds a letter he received from the state saying that he has requested an absentee ballot for the upcoming Sept. 6 Republican rrimary. He said his is a lifelong Democrat and never requested such a ballot.

EAST LONGMEADOW – Secretary of State William Galvin has opened an investigation into allegations that a large number of East Longmeadow voters had their party affiliations changed without permission.

Town officials were notified Friday that Galvin’s office is looking into voter registration fraud for the upcoming Sept. 6 primary.

The investigation will determine if a large number of voter registrations “were improperly altered and changed ... in violation of law,” according to Michelle K. Tassinari, director of the office’s election division.

“Secretary Galvin considers this a matter of urgent circumstance,” she added.

Brian S. McNiff, a spokesman for Galvin, would not say how many cases of suspected fraud were being examined, or speculate on possible motives for the unauthorized changes.

But he said complaints about party registration tampering are uncommon, even in election years.

“It’s pretty unusual, that’s safe to say,” McNiff said.

Town Clerk Thomas P. Florence could not be reached for comment Monday. The letter sent by Galvin’s office last week instructed Florence to preserve all paper and computer records relating to voter registration.

Kibbe Road resident Douglas Howie received a letter Monday from the Secretary of State’s office stating that he had requested an absentee ballot for the Republican primary.

A lifelong Democrat, the 67-year old retired Connecticut Department of Corrections employee was flabbergasted.

“I’ve always voted Democrat -- something’s going on here,” he said, adding that his wife received a similar letter.

“She’s a Democrat too,” he said.

Spokesman for Republicans and Democrats said they were unaware of any statewide registration problems.

Timothy S. Buckley, the Republican communications director, said there is no primary for the only statewide race – U.S. Senator Scott Brown’s contest against Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren.

"We are aware of the situation and we look forward to getting more details. Voter fraud is unacceptable and it is our hope that this matter is resolved quickly,"
Buckley said.